A Bronx roof tale

While it doesn’t quite carry the same cache as the Waveland Ave. apartments in Chicago, Gerard Ave. and the apartments lining this Bronx street share a history with Yankee Stadium. When the apartment buildings went up in the late 1920s, the top floors had uninterrupted views into Yankee Stadium. When the team and City of New York renovated the Stadium in the 1970s, some residents suspected the Yankees of building the walls higher to block this free view. (The Yankees deny this claim.)

Nowadays, savvy fans can catch glimpses of the outfield and pitchers mound from the roof but only for a few more months. When the Cathedral closes and the new stadium opens, the Gerard Ave. lookouts will be gone forever. In The Times today, Manny Fernandez explores the Gerard Ave. quirks and those who know the Yankees as the rich baseball team in a relatively poor neighborhood.

Great article. The stadium will clearly be missed. It is just hard to imagine going to a yankees game without going to the real stadium. There will clearly be something missing. I am only 19 years old, and have only been a “real” fan for about 4 or 5 years but going to games at the stadium is always a great time. There is a clear mystique there that you can feel. I may just shead a tear at the last home game just as I did last year sitting alone in the bleachers starring at home plate after watching jorge strike out to end the season. Go yanks